Multimedia projection systems have become popular for purposes such as conducting sales demonstrations, business meetings, classroom training, and for use in home theaters. In typical operation, multimedia projection systems receive analog video signals from an input device and convert the video signals to digital information to control one or more digitally driven light valves. Depending on the cost, brightness, and image quality goals of the particular projection systems, the light valves may be of various sizes and resolutions, be transmissive or reflective, and be employed in single or multiple display configurations.
Current projection systems are capable of creating millions of colors by using light valve pixels to selectively transmit or reflect primary colored light through a projection lens for viewing. However, current projection systems have difficulty reproducing frames with wide ranges in luminances from deep black to bright white, while still providing adequate resolutions. This is particularly noticeable in frames primarily composed of image pixels on the darker end of the luminance spectrum.